William B. Sprague

Résumé du livre

There is also one journal of Henrietta Sprague Lathrop (1868 - 1873). Henrietta ("Nettie") Sprague Lothrop (1859 - 1936) was the daughter of William McCracken Lathrop (1806 - 1876) and Elizabeth Kendall Rogers Lathrop (1836 - 1939). Elizabeth Rogers Lathrop (1866 -1939) was her full sister. William and Charlotte were her half-siblings. Their mother, Charlotte Elizabeth Belcher, was William Lathrop's first wife. A particular favorite of Nettie's was "Uncle Gus," her mother's brother. The author of this journal is a nine-year old girl living near Boston in 1868. Her father was employed by the Commonwealth Insurance Company and the family was in comfortable circumstances. In the winter, they lived in Boston and, in the summer, they moved to Hamilton. Nettie's life was busy with visits from cousins, playing games (i.e., "Graces in the Garden"), music lessons and, in November of 1871, she was enrolled at Miss Tilden's school in Boston. Nettie thrives at school and writes of her roommates, their activities, the books they read, and their entertainments. Of note is her description of the Peace Jubilee held in Boston in June of 1872 to celebrate the ending of the Franco-Prussian War. It was held in a coliseum purpose-built to seat thousands. The entertainment included a choir of two thousand and was attended one night by President Grant. The Great Fire of Boston in November of 1872 marked the beginning of the change in the family's fortunes. Mr. Sprague's insurance company sustained heavy losses as a consequence of the fire. The last entry in the diary in June of 1873 records an accident in which Nettie and her father are thrown from their carriage. Neither sustained significant injuries.